Monthly Archives: April 2012

In this year of firsts, Greg Doran, who’s about to take over the running of the Royal Shakespeare Company, is creating a few firsts of his own. He’s currently rehearsing the first RSC Shakespeare production featuring a completely black cast. … Continue reading →

Shakespeare loved spring, and April, with its freshness and optimism is the month of which he writes most fondly. I couldn’t let it go by without a post containing a few of his lines, together with a selection of photographs … Continue reading →

The World Shakespeare Festival, which has just begun, is already opening our eyes to performances of Shakespeare from some of the most remote corners of the world. Nothing does more to prove that Shakespeare is the world’s dramatist than productions … Continue reading →

People all round the world will be celebrating Shakespeare’s birthday today, 23rd April. This year we in the UK welcome productions of Shakespeare’s plays in many languages from all parts of the world as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Even though these … Continue reading →

In case it had escaped your notice, the World Shakespeare Festival’s about to kick off in theatres around the country. But even if you don’t intend to go anywhere near a theatre, the BBC is providing enough programmes in the … Continue reading →

In November 1786 the printer Josiah Boydell held a dinner at his London home to which he invited several leading artists including George Romney and Benjamin West. The discussion turned to the idea of creating a lavishly illustrated edition of Shakespeare’s … Continue reading →

I’m no great lover of any sport involving animals, but I do admire the beauty of those superbly athletic thoroughbred horses. It was shocking to hear that two horses had died during the running of last weekend’s Grand National, one … Continue reading →

On 7 April I was part of a panel on the subject of performance archives at the Shakespeare Association of America’s annual meeting in Boston. The panel was chaired by Michael Warren and the speakers were Kate Dorney from the … Continue reading →

We’re used to the idea that in the early modern period women were seen as intellectually inferior to men. Denied the educational opportunities afforded to their brothers, girls learned only the rudiments of reading and writing. And with their lives … Continue reading →

Maybe it’s because I’ve been away from the BBC for two weeks, but the Radio 4 documentary by Dr Robert Winston about Mozart, broadcast a couple of days ago, struck me as a fascinating mix of analysis and glorious music. … Continue reading →